ROME -- In an attempt to quell heated debates over control of Italy's state broadcaster, the speakers of the two houses of Italian Parliament met in Rome Tuesday to find a new board of directors for RAI.
Pierfernando Casini and Marcello Pera agreed that appointing an RAI president from the opposition party would protect the broadcaster's role as the cultural voice of the country, amid accusations that Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's party has too much control over the media.
The resignation of the two remaining board members Antonio Baldassarre and Ettore Albertoni last week sparked a fiery debate about conflict of interest in media-magnate Berlusconi's handling of the crisis.
Potential candidates were unofficially named on a Canale5 talk show last week, the flagship channel of the PM's Mediaset group.
However, Berlusconi was forced to back down and admit that the right to name the network's board lies with the speakers of the houses of Parliament.
Canale5 is RAI's sole competitor.
Casini said, "The important thing is to work quickly but well ... and to choose a president that has the authority to represent the opposition on an institutional level."
Meetings are expected to continue later in the week.
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